Last Year, Fund Custody Reached an All-Time High of 658.8 Trillion KRW, Up 21% Year-on-Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] In 2019, the net assets and subscription amounts of all types of funds, except for mixed stock and mixed bond types, increased, resulting in an overall rise in the net assets and subscription amounts of all funds.

On the 13th, the Korea Financial Investment Association announced that as of the end of December last year, the total net assets of all funds amounted to 658.8 trillion KRW, an increase of 21.0% (114.5 trillion KRW) compared to the end of the previous year, and the subscription amount rose by 17.9% (98.6 trillion KRW) to 649.6 trillion KRW.

Public offering funds recorded 242.3 trillion KRW, up 13.4% (28.7 trillion KRW) compared to the end of 2018, due to an increase in stock-type funds from stock market recovery, an increase in bond-type funds driven by a preference for safe assets, and an increase in MMF subscription amounts.

Private equity funds recorded 416.4 trillion KRW, an increase of 25.9% (85.7 trillion KRW), driven by continuous growth in real asset funds such as real estate and special assets, as well as mixed asset investments.

By fund type, stock-type funds increased by 11.2% (8.9 trillion KRW) to 88.8 trillion KRW compared to the end of the previous year, despite a slight outflow of funds, due to an increase in valuation. Bond-type funds increased by 15.4% (15.9 trillion KRW) to 119 trillion KRW, reflecting a growing preference for safe assets. MMFs rose by 17.0% (15.3 trillion KRW) to 105.6 trillion KRW compared to the end of the previous year.

Real asset funds increased by 31.2% (45.9 trillion KRW) to 193.3 trillion KRW compared to the end of the previous year, as preference for alternative investments continued.

The Korea Financial Investment Association explained, "Due to factors such as stock market instability, demand for alternative investments with relatively high returns and stability, such as real estate and special assets (including SOC), increased. Overseas real estate investments also steadily grew, causing the proportion of overseas real estate funds to surpass that of domestic real estate funds."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.